


Helping Hand

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 07:00:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18360986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Jack decides to skip out on a party to take care of his best friend, Alex.





	Helping Hand

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in early 2019.

Jack was sitting on his couch when his phone dinged, saying that his Uber for the night had arrived. He was going to a Spotify event that he was having mixed feelings about. He’d been excited for it for the past month, because he was going to go with Alex. Jack always looked forward to hanging out with Alex when they took breaks from touring, since Alex was always the busiest, and hardest to make time with. He had his new band with Mark, his wife and other friends to make time for when they had time off. The two still hung out, just not as much as Jack wished it was. Alex had texted him earlier saying that he either had the stomach flu or food poisoning, and that it’d be best for him to stay home since he felt bad. Jack was still looking forward to seeing his other friends, but he did wish that Alex could be with him, since that would make it more fun. He walked out to the Uber and gave the driver the address of the venue hosting the event.  
“What’re they hosting there tonight?” the driver asked as he started to drive.  
“Oh, an event for Spotify,” Jack replied. The driver made some more small talk during the ride, but Jack pulled out his phone and texted Alex.  
Jack: Hey man, how’re you feeling?  
Alex: Not great, it’s just my stomach though  
Jack: That really sucks dude. I’m on my way to the Spotify event  
Alex: Cool! Have fun for me tonight!  
Jack put his phone away when he got to the venue. After thanking and tipping the driver, he walked inside the venue. He went right over to the bar and ordered a mixed drink so he could loosen up a bit. He walked around until he found some of his friends.  
“Jack, what’s up?” his friend asked, giving him a bro hug.  
“Hey man, not too much. I just got here,” Jack replied.  
“Where’s Alex? I thought he was joining us tonight,” Jack’s friend asked.  
“He got sick earlier, so he’s home,” Jack explained.   
“That’s too bad, he would’ve enjoyed this, especially since he doesn’t go to things like this very often. Anyway, let’s go see some other people!” his friend suggested, walking towards the other side of the venue. As Jack walked with him, he wished that Alex were there. Jack knew some of the other people there, but not too many, which is why he was glad initially that Alex would be with him. After saying hi to the new group of people, Jack noticed a backdrop on the carpet of the event.  
“Let’s go take some pictures!” Jack exclaimed. He walked over to it with his friend, and let the professional photographers get a few shots of him. He nodded his head and made rock horns with his fist. Suddenly, he had an idea.  
“Hey, take a boomerang of me doing the pose I just did, I had a funny idea,” Jack instructed his friend, handing him his phone. His friend took the boomerang, then gave Jack his phone back. After putting a caption that he thought would be funny on the boomerang, he put his phone into his pocket.  
“Let’s go over to the others,” his friend suggested.  
“Sure, let’s do it,” Jack replied. They walked back over, and Jack ordered another drink. He stood with his friends and contributed to the conversation that was happening as little as possible. He didn’t do this intentionally at first. He was thinking about Alex and wondering how he was doing. Jack really wished that Alex could be there, and he could tell that he wasn’t having as much fun as he could be having since he was thinking about his best friend. After about fifteen more minutes of this, he decided that he should leave, since he wasn’t feeling very happy.  
“Hey guys, I think I’m going to take off,” Jack said, interrupting one of his friends.  
“What do you mean? You haven’t even been here for an hour yet,” one of his friends pointed out.  
“Yeah, you’re always the last to leave. Is this because Alex isn’t here?” another one of his friends asked.  
“Nah man, I’m just not in the mood to party tonight,” Jack said, lying. It was absolutely because Alex wasn’t there, he just didn’t want to tell his friends. He thought they wouldn’t take him seriously, and just make him stay longer if he told the truth.  
“Okay, if you think it’s for the best, then you should go. Be safe getting home. We can all go out sometime later this week, if you’re feeling up to it by then,” his friend suggested.  
“That sounds good. I’ll catch up with you guys later,” Jack replied, before walking out. He threw out his cup and called an Uber for himself. After waiting for about ten minutes, the Uber arrived.  
“Where are you off to?” the driver asked as Jack got into the car.  
“This address right here,” Jack replied, giving the driver Alex’s address. It was about a twenty-minute car ride, and it felt longer for some reason to Jack. He really wanted to see his best friend, and try to make him feel better, and all of these feelings contributed to the drive feeling eternal. When the car pulled up in front of Alex’s house, it was right before eight. He figured that Alex was awake, since it was still early. After thanking and paying the driver, Jack walked to the front door. He rang the doorbell and looked at something on his phone while he waited. When he heard the door being opened, he put his phone away.  
“Jack? What’re you doing here?” Alex asked in a slightly raspy voice. He had on sweats, and had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He looked tired, and his face was pale, with the exception of his flushed cheeks.  
“Hey man, how’re you feeling?” Jack asked.  
“I’ve been better. But, aren’t you supposed to be at the Spotify event right now? Also, let’s go in, I don’t want to stand up for too long,” Alex explained. They walked over to the couch, which Jack figured Alex had been on all day. There were bottles of water and medicine on the coffee table, along with a bucket. Hulu was on the TV, paused on a South Park episode. Alex sat on one end of the couch, and Jack took the other.  
“So, I came here because the Spotify party got boring for me,” Jack said.  
“Really? You’ve been talking about how excited you were for it for the past month now,” Alex pointed out.  
“Honestly, I was excited, because we were going to go together. Without you, I just couldn’t make it fun for myself. I even only had two drinks the entire time I was there. I just couldn’t make myself enjoy it,” Jack explained.  
“I’m surprised, you party without me all of the time,” Alex replied.  
“I know, and that’s fun, but the whole reason I was excited for this particular night in the first place was because you were going to be there with me. Whenever we have off time, you’re always really busy, and I miss hanging out with you. I’m glad that you have so many great things going for you, but I do miss spending a lot of time with you. So, I left so we could hang out some, if you’re up to it,” Jack explained.  
“I didn’t know you felt that way, Jack. We can always hang out when I’m here in LA, just ask and we can work something out. I’m sorry that you left the party because of me,” Alex replied.  
“No, I left because I wanted to. Hanging out with you means a lot more to me than going to another party. And, I figured that after a day of feeling shitty by yourself, you could use some company,” Jack explained, making Alex smile some.  
“It’s definitely been a pretty shitty day. I don’t have a temperature or anything, since it’s just food poisoning, but it’s still been pretty awful,” Alex explained.  
“Yeah, I bet it has,” Jack replied.  
“Like, I haven’t gotten sick so many times in one day in a while,” Alex added.  
“Yeah, I bet that’s been pretty rough. Do you feel any better though?” Jack asked his friend.  
“Slightly, since I’ve gotten a lot of it out of my system. But I still feel pretty nauseous, so I apologize in advance if I get sick while you’re here,” Alex replied.  
“Not like I haven’t helped you through that before. Do you want to keep watching the episode of South Park that you’ve got paused?” Jack suggested.  
“Sounds good to me,” Alex replied, pressing play on the remote. It turned out to be one of Jack’s favorite episodes, to his surprise. Towards the end of the episode, Alex’s stomach started to cramp up badly again. It didn’t take long for Jack to notice his friend shifting around on the couch. He paused the TV and looked over at Alex.  
“Are you okay man?” Jack asked.  
“No, not really,” Alex replied, gagging.  
“Do you think you can make it to the bathroom?” Jack asked urgently.  
“If you help me,” Alex replied. Jack quickly helped Alex up, and led him to the bathroom down the hall. They both sat on the floor, and Alex immediately began to get sick. Jack had helped Alex with this type of thing countless times before, but he couldn’t help but feel bad for his beset friend. He rubbed Alex’s back, attempting to comfort him, until he was finally done.  
“Are you okay?” Jack asked.  
“That actually helped me feel a bit better. I still don’t feel great, but it’s slightly less bad now,” Alex explained.   
“Well, that’s good. Do you think you’re done, at least for now?” Jack continued.  
“I think so, thanks for helping me,” Alex replied.  
“No problem let’s get you back to the couch,” Jack suggested. He helped Alex get cleaned up, then they went back to the living room. Jack turned out the ceiling light, then put on a table lamp. Before playing the episode again, Alex turned to Jack.  
“Hey man, I’m really glad you came here tonight. I’m sorry you didn’t get to enjoy your party, but today has been pretty shitty for me, and you being here with me has made it all a little bit better. How long do you want to stay??” Alex asked.   
“I’m glad I came here, too. I can stay the night, if you want. That way, if you need something in the middle of the night, I can help you,” Jack offered.  
“I’d love that, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to stay,” Alex replied.  
“It doesn’t feel like that at all. You’re my best friend, and I want to be here for you, Alex,” Jack replied, making both of them smile. They put the episode back on. Jack was glad that he could hang out with, and even help his best friend, even if the night didn’t go as planned.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Sorry for not posting for an entire month, school got extremely busy and I simply didn't have time to be active on here. I have a month left, but everything is calmer now, so i'll be able to post regularly again! I hope you enjoyed this, and i'll be back again soon with another new story!! Lots of love, Liv


End file.
